Ed Markey Says September 11th Victims’ Families Have A Right To Know About Any Saudi Involvement In Attacks

By Tom Joyce | August 17, 2021, 6:39 EDT

Massachusetts U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-Malden) attacked originalism and newly confirmed U.S. Supreme Court justice Amy Coney Barrett from the floor of the United States Senate on Monday, October 26, 2020. Screenshot of C-Span footage.

What role did Saudi Arabia have in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks?

U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-Malden) would like to know.

There have long been allegations that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, specifically the Saudi royal family, had some sort of involvement with the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. While the Saudi government has long denied any involvement, U.S. authorities have provided information linking at least one Saudi government official to the attack.

Even so, a report released by the 9/11 Commission in the aftermath of the attacks stated that there was “no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded” al-Qaeda.

Most of what the U.S. government knows about any Saudi connection to the attack is unknown to the public, almost 20 years later. U.S. government officials have cited national security to justify not releasing information concerning the Saudi government’s link, if any, to the act of terrorism in 2001.

What is known, however, is that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. Additionally, Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization that masterminded the September 11 attacks, was a Saudi national.

Late last week, Markey called on President Joe Biden’s administration to release records it has detailing any involvement Saudi Arabia had in the attacks.

“I absolutely believe those documents should be made public,” Markey said, according to The Boston Herald. “The families have a right to know the role that the Saudi government played in 9/11 if there was any affiliation with, any connection with the Saudi government, and the attacks here in Boston on 9/11, 2001.”

Markey isn’t the only one pushing for this in recent times.

Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) led a bipartisan group of senators — including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) — in introducing the September 11th Transparency Act.

The bill “will ensure that the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) declassify, as appropriate, the documents that could identify additional co-conspirators,” according to a press release from Menendez’s web site.

The bill wouldn’t require federal agencies to release any specific documents, but it says that they must complete reviews for declassification using the existing process. If the bill is enacted into law, the federal agencies would also have to provide Congress with justification if they refuse to declassify a document or record.

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